When it comes to leading suspense tales, C.D. Ledbetter is one of the better writers on the market today.

Mary Corbett expects little more than escaping the cold, snowy Boston winter for a few days when she's assigned to appraise the contents of an old plantation house in Louisiana. Her first impression reawakens her desire to someday run a Bed and Breakfast Inn, but as she approaches the house, she finds herself looking for rose bushes she expects in a garden she's never seen before and hand-carved shutters no longer on the windows. Next, she's surprised to discover that Jack Windom, with whom she had a somewhat embarrassing encounter five years earlier, is the other curator appraising the estate. Respite his warning to expect an unusual welcome from the three elderly servants remaining in the house, Mary is taken aback when Sadie points a gnarled finger at her and declares that the spirits foretold her arrival. Learning that the locals consider Sadie a Voodoo Priestess, Mary declines the old woman's half-invitation-half-demand that she attend the Blue Moon ceremony the next night. When Jack talks her into it as a lark, Mary experiences a vision in the flames that sets her on a journey into the past so frightening and compelling she cannot abandon it. Nightmares and the recurring appearance of a ghost-like figure pleading for her help lead Mary's path across Jack's once again and eventually back to the plantation. Mary's search for answers about the lives and disappearance of two former owners of the plantation escalates into a dangerous conflict with some very real enemies. Ledbetter weaves an intriguing and exciting tale of past lives and old souls that leaves the reader eager for more.

Reviewed by M.R. Henderson, author of If I Should Die, By Reason of, and The Killing Game

Blue Moon, both a mystery and a love story, grabs you and pushes you to read yet the next chapter - even when your bed is calling and you know you will be sorry in the AM. Mary is a woman each of us would like to have in our circle of friends, genuine, interesting, observant of the world around her and wanting to make everything a little better. She is scrupulously honest, and I would bet every emotion plays across her face.

When she is put into a project with an former acquaintance, Jack - it is clear to everyone but her that the work will get done but there will be a far more complicated involvement before this is over - despite the fact that Jack is married and faithful.

Add to this wonderful recipe a Louisana plantation home, difficult circumstances, strong deja vu and the protection of an elderly VooDoo priestess - mix well and it is a compelling tale.

Turn the pages, let the story entice you, don't be surprised if suddenly hours have gone by and you barely notice - and you wish the story was twice as long when you finish - because you really are attached to these characters.

C D Ledbetter may become addictive! Please will there be seconds?

Reviewed by: SMCourter

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I have just read my first e-book by Carla Ledbetter called BLUE MOON. I couldn't put this novel down (and it's tough to carry my computer around with me)! Her first novel is intriguing to the last page with romance, conflict, voodoo, family relationships, and more supernatural wonders. I found myself engaged in the characters, their situation, and their emotion turmoil. Ms. Ledbetter paints a picture that you can easily invision and shares a picture of past Louisiana plantations that few of us will ever experience. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who questions life after death and the powers that can reach beyond the grave! I am looking forward to the sequel to see where Mary and Jack's adventures lead them next.

Congratulations to an aspiring new young author, Carla Ledbetter!

Reviewed by L. Myers

"If these walls could talk!"

When, as a teenager, Carla Ledbetter gave guided plantation tours, she often wondered what the "story beneath the story" was. Many years later, she decided to write that story herself, deftly weaving history and mystery into her first romantic suspense novel, published as an e-book by DSLIJ Press in April.

Mary Corbett, an expert estate surveyor, reluctantly accepts an assignment to appraise the contents of an old, run-down Louisiana plantation, which will bring her out-of-town during the Christmas holidays.

When she reaches the plantation, she is even more dismayed to see the decaying structure "like a withered old man who'd been beaten down and no longer had the strength to fight back." The situation is complicated when she meets the second assigned curator, Jack Windom, whom she had been strongly attracted to five years earlier.

Knowing that Jack was married, and disturbed by clear pictures of what the plantation had been like in its prime, Mary grows more and more uncomfortable on her assignment. When she and Jack attend a Blue Moon voodoo ceremony presided over by elderly housekeeper Sadie, the voodoo high-priestess, the former owners of the plantation appear to her in a vision. Revealing their lives to her in bits and pieces, Magdalene Laroussard, the mistress, begs Mary to help unearth the mystery behind their disappearance over a century ago.

Mary leaves the heirs to the plantation, Justine and Philippe Martine, with bad news. The plantation needs extensive repairs and the furniture and fixtures are of relatively little value. At the same time, she becomes determined to purchase the plantation herself and restore it as a bed-and-breakfast.

Upon her return to Boston, Mary enlists the help of Dee-Dee, her sister, to get Cajun records she'd copied from the parish courthouse translated into English. When the apparitions continue to appear, Mary decides to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Benton, who hypnotizes her and regresses her back to the Civil War era.

When Mary hits barriers which prevent her from confronting the past, she asks her Aunt Elizavon to be her partner in the purchase of the Louisiana plantation.

After negotiations are completed with the reluctant heirs, Mary goes back to Louisiana, accompanied by Dee-Dee, to supervise the restoration. But after dealing with disappearing work crews, mysterious intruders, vicious rumors, and threats of harm, she begins to wonder if she will ever solve the mystery of the disappearance of Magdalene and Jean-Pierre, exorcise the ghosts of the past, and make the property a thriving tourist attraction.

Help comes unexpectedly when Jack and his wife Audrey, terminally ill with ovarian cancer, join her in Louisiana. As Audrey learns to reconcile the past and present, and come to terms with her own imminent death, Mary and Jack come closer to releasing Magdalene and Jean-Pierre from their century-long ordeal.

But before that happens, they have mysteries to solve and criminals to apprehend in their quest to bring the Louisiana plantation to its former glory.

Using flashback technique, Ledbetter easily transitions from past to present, giving just enough detail to keep both plots going at a rapid pace. Her clear knowledge of plantation architecture and furnishings, and the easy way she carries it into the clue line, adds a touch of authenticity to her book.

The characters are sympathetic and true to life: Mary, who seeks to redefine her own future while releasing Magdalene and Jean-Pierre from their pasts; Jack, torn between duty to his dying wife and his desire to be with and protect Mary; Dee-Dee, who loves her sister desperately, but not enough to live a week or two without creature comforts; and Aunt Elizavon, who tries to make her own deal even if it derails her niece's lifelong dream.

This fast-paced romantic suspense novel leaves an opening for a planned sequel. Will the plantation continue to bring danger to its owners, along with a healthy dose of Southern charm? Ledbetter fans will anxiously wait to see the next plot-turns the story brings as two old souls occupy and host the plantation bed-and-breakfast of their dreams.

Reviewed by Maryanne Meyerriecks

***** Five Stars, Outstanding

The beautiful and emotional curator, Mary Corbett, reluctantly agrees to assess the aging Louisiana plantation as a favor to one of her colleagues. The moment she discovers that the handsome but married, Jack Windom, will be her partner for the unwanted assignment, her heart skips a beat... of course, it had to be the man who she had been attracted to and rejected by 5 years ago!

During their appraisal of the property, their mutual affections blossom and Mary learns that a Blue Moon will appear that night aimed at bringing lost souls back together. Mary and Jack are urged to attend the Blue Moon voodoo ceremony given by the elderly housekeeper, Sadie, who happens to to be a voodoo high-priestess

Upon Jack's return to aid his dying wife, Mary travels back to Boston to try to pick up where she left off. She quickly discovers that it will not be easy when she is plaguedwith nightmares about the deaths of the former owners of the plantation.

Mary convinces her wealthy Aunt Elizavon to buy the plantation to renovate and transform into a bed and breakfast so that Mary can search the place for clues to the mystery. Little did she expect the intruders, surprises, and dangers that befall her during those weeks in the plantation -- never mind the fact that Jack decides to bring his wife to visit...

Carla Ledbetter's expert descriptions of the run-down plantation paint a vivid picture to accompany the fast-moving plot. Her characters are well-developed, believable, and exude vulnerability. Each has their own weaknesses and I love how she lets the reader inside their minds to see what is -- motivating their actions from the determined Mary standing up to her cold-hearted aunt, Elizavon, to the manipulations of the vivaciously evil, Nicole Martine.

Blue Moon is a riveting suspense and romance story which dares you to keep reading regardless of the late hour. You become attached to the characters and my only regret is that it leaves you wanting more!

Now forever a Ledbetter fan, I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Review by Eva Almeida : eBooks N' Bytes Reviews

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Exciting ghost story

The luck of the assignment draw pleases Mary Corbett as she chooses a sealed envelope containing an inventory job in her hometown of Boston. In turn this allows her to spend time with her sister during the holidays. However, when co-worker Tony Parker asks her to switch with him, the kind team player agrees especially since Tony has covered her in the past.

Mary travels to the old Martine Louisiana plantation about a hundred miles north of Baton Rouge. There she meets her co-curator Jack Windom,a person she once wanted to share a bed with but he rejected her overtures since he was engaged at the time. To Mary's chagrin, she remains attracted to the married Jack. Worse yet for Mary is the visions and nightmares that she begins to see of the previous owners, Jean-Pierre and Magdalene Larrusard, dead for well over a century. Haunted by them, Mary tries to help find peace for Magdalene and herself.

BLUE MOON is a fabulous contemporary gothic-like ghost story filled with action and growing suspense that hooks the audience into a one sitting read. Mary is a compassionate individual that makes her the prefect foil for the star-crossed lovers who disturb her every breath. Jack is a hero in every sense of the word. The lead duo makes a great couple even though the resolution of his marriage is too simple. The secondary cast adds depth ranging from voodoo to assignment swapping, which in turn provides additional insight into Jack, Mary, and the two ghosts. When it comes to leading suspense tales. C.D. Ledbetter is one of the better writers on the market today.

Harriet Klausner, Painted Rock

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Stars out of 5: 5+

I love this book!

During a visit to a Louisiana plantation as a curator, Boston resident, Mary Corbett begins having strange visions and memories of once living there.

Jack, a curator from New York, and ex-love, is hired to join Mary to draw up inventory sheets of the contents of the house for the owners. Visions from the past emerge the moment she steps out of the car onto the plantation grounds, and old desires surface when she sets eyes on Jack. Feeling the same way, Jack is unable to forget about Mary when he returns to his wife, Audrey, who is in the last stages of ovarian cancer.

Throughout Mary's visit, visions of Jean-Pierre, and Magdalene Laroussard, former owners of the plantation who mysteriously disappeared over a hundred years ago, continue, but after a voodoo ceremony, performed by Sadie, the housekeeper, her experience heightens to nightmares and visits from Magdalene herself.

Unable to bear the nightmares, Mary seeks to solve the disappearing mystery, while trying to keep her feelings for Jack hidden. Will Mary solve the mystery? What will become of Mary and Jack?

Characters come alive in Ledbetter's haunting suspense novel BLUE MOON. I found this book extremely hard to put down. As I read the setting, from a plantation in Louisiana, New York to Boston, I became engrossed with the well-defined characters—major and minor. Each character had a reason and every word kept me turning the page. Ledbetter is an author to keep your eye on. Her unique writing style is to die for! Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Carla Ledbetter is no stranger to plantation homes, Voodoo practitioners, and a love of Louisiana bayous. She now resides in Fort Smith, Arkansas with her husband, who is her soul mate, and her spoiled pets.

I highly recommend BLUE MOON by and author with a fresh voice, C. D. Ledbetter. Available now by this author is the sequel to Mary and Jack's love—Breaking the Chain.

Reviewed by Jennifer LB Leese @ ASTORYWEAVERs Book Reviews©

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Rating: Five Roses

Carla Ledbetter has written a book that clearly shows the best in Romantic Suspense! Vivid descriptions portraying the atmosphere of an old southern plantation in Louisiana, strong characters, a budding romance, an unsolved ghost story, and the mysterious world of Voodoo all come together in a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you continue to turn pages and time slips by unnoticed.

Heroine Mary Corbett is an antique curator with an unique talent in correctly assessing the value of antiques. She loves her job but hates it when an assignment takes her out of town during the Christmas holidays and causes her to miss spending time with her sister. Happening more often than not, she's still a sucker for a sad story and ends up changing her assignment with a fellow co-worker, thus taking her to Louisiana for the Holidays.

The old, run-down plantation belonging to the deceased Martine family beckons Mary with a strange sense of 'familiarity' she can't understand. Nerves already a bit shaken after the strange meeting with the old voodoo priestess Sadie --- who announced that she'd been waiting for Mary ---Mary is disconcerted to discover that the other curator who will be with her at the plantation is a man she'd once foolishly tried to sleep with but had been rebuked by for the effort. She's not happy with the situation --- or with the realization that she still finds herself attracted to Jack Windom (who is now married). Strange events are happening quickly and she finds herself drawn into the plantation's mystery all the while trying not to lose her heart again to a man that doesn't want it.

Jack Windom is dismayed to know he'll be working side by side with Mary. He still has feelings for her but is locked in a marriage he won't walk away from. When he and Mary attend the voodoo ceremony of the BLUE MOON, things start to happen that bring danger to Mary and he realizes just how much he does love her.

When Mary starts having "live" visions of the ghost of the plantation's mistress, Magdalene Laroussard, she's scared and thinks she's going crazy. Something --- fate or unwanted destiny --- keeps pulling her back to thoughts of the plantation and the mysterious deaths of Magdalene and owner Jean-Pierre. She decides to fulfill a dream and purchase the plantation for a Bed and Breakfast and hopes to discover the truth behind Magdalene's ghostly appearance and pleas for help.

This is a fast paced read, the suspense non stop, and the old 'gothic' feel of the story adds to the suspense and romance. And as Mary and Jack's love becomes undeniable so does the ever present danger.

Ms. Ledbetter's wonderful talent in bringing a story 'alive' is very evident. Her next book is a continuation of Mary and Jack's story BLUE MOON, titled BREAKING THE CHAIN, released in 2001. The mystery and danger are still present and things are heating up fast!

A definite recommend for those who love romantic suspense books from authors such as Beverly Barton, Dee Henderson, and M.R. Henderson.

Rating: Five Roses

Reviewed by Kari Thomas for A Romance Review